Ultraviolet Look at Moon by Endeavour

Published: March 13, 1995

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 12—
Astronauts aboard the Endeavour today made the first detailed observations of the Moon in far ultraviolet wavelengths.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, no similar data have ever been obtained from any previous missions -- not by the space shuttle, not by unpiloted probes, and not even by the Apollo moon missions.

Dr. Randy Gladstone of Southwest Research Institute, one of the hundreds of ground participants in Endeavour's mission, said studying the moon in ultraviolet would reveal some hidden properties of the lunar surface, where six pairs of astronauts walked between 1969 and 1972.

"We'll also be able to test this wavelength range as a way to do remote sensing of other planetary bodies, such as Mercury or asteroids or outer planet satellites," Dr. Gladstone said.

Human beings can't see ultraviolet light emitted by or reflected off celestial objects, but Endeavour's $195 million Astro Observatory can.

The observations came on the 11th day of a 15 1/2-day mission, which is expected to surpass the shuttle endurance record by about 19 hours by the time it ends at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday.